COLUMBUS – A reduction in white-tailed deer bag limits and antlerless permit use during the 2015-2016 hunting seasons were among regulations approved by the Ohio Wildlife Council April 8, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

The Ohio Wildlife Council voted to approve deer hunting proposals prepared by ODNR Division of Wildlife. Among the approved changes:

•Reduce bag limits in most counties, and remove antlerless permits in all but 10 counties. No county had a bag limit increase.

•Reduce the statewide bag limit of deer from nine to six.

•Suspend the antlerless-only muzzleloader weekend.

•Offer two additional days of deer-gun hunting, Dec. 28-29, 2015.

•Move muzzleloader season to Jan. 9-12, 2016.

•Move the start of fall turkey hunting to Oct 10, two days earlier than 2014.

•Add one straight-walled cartridge rifle, the .450 Marlin, to the existing list of legal hunting rifles during the deer-gun and youth deer-gun seasons.

The Ohio Wildlife Council also approved changes to Ohio's list of threatened species. The peregrine falcon, previously threatened, was removed from the list.

Small-game hunting and furbearer trapping season dates were also passed. Season dates and bag limits for migratory birds, including mourning dove, Canada goose, rail, moorhen, snipe, woodcock and waterfowl will be set in August in compliance with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's framework. The Ohio 2015-2016 hunting and trapping season dates can be found at bit.ly/1516Ohiohuntingseason.

Small game hunting seasons will continue during the second gun weekend, Dec. 28-29, 2015. Also on Wednesday, the ringed-neck pheasant and chukar hunting seasons were extended one week to Jan. 10, 2016.

The Ohio Wildlife Council voted to approve the proposals after receiving public input from Ohioans at open houses and a statewide hearing in March.

The Ohio Wildlife Council is an eight-member board that approves all of the ODNR Division of Wildlife proposed rules and regulations.

No more than three either-sex permits, or two either-sex permits and one antlerless permit: Lake, Lorain, Portage and Stark.

No more than four either-sex permits, or three either-sex permits and one antlerless permit: Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas and Summit.

The statewide bag limit of six deer was approved, a reduction from the limit of nine deer last season. Only one deer may be antlered, and a hunter cannot exceed a county bag limit. Antlerless permits may be used from Sept. 26 through Nov. 29.